 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Bulworth
- Review Date: October 12, 2006
- R
- Genre: Comedy
- 1998
Common Sense Media says
Smug but fun political satire for adults only.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie is all about satirizing and subverting the American political process, a complicated topic that most kids probably won't get. Also, Jay and Constance Bulworth are in a loveless marriage. Constance is having an affair that's made explicit by the fact that she's shown lying in bed naked (nothing provocative is shown) with her lover. Jay flirts with Nina and tells the audience that he can get lots of p---y because of his powerful role in the Senate. Jay swears a lot, talks about being suicidal, drinks, smokes pot, and plans to have himself killed. His staffers snort cocaine. Children are shown with guns and as drug dealers.
What's the story?
Warren Beatty co-wrote, directs, and stars in this cracked political fairy tale about the eponymous Bulworth, an incumbent California senator running to keep his seat in Congress. An old-school 1960s liberal, Bulworth has tacked to the right on everything from affirmative action to health insurance for the poor to secure high-powered conservative campaign contributors. In this world, the Democratic Party lacks a soul. So Bulworth goes out and gets some soul -- black soul. Alternately rapping, swearing, and hitting on young Nina (Halle Berry), Bulworth lays out the facts of his political life. "I've got to raise $10,000 a day every day I'm in Washington. I ain't gettin' it in South Central," he says in strained ghetto cadence. "I'm gettin' it in Beverly Hills. So I'm votin' in the Senate the way they want me to and I'm sendin' them my bills. But we've got babies in South Central dying as young as they do in Peru. We've got public schools that are nightmares. We've got a Congress that ain't got a clue!"
Is it any good?
As political satire, BULWORTH is as subtle as a hit man and as outlandish as a drag queen. What's fun about it is Beatty's commitment to the part and the ideology. He's willing to be the clown and plays it well. And there's certainly something thrilling about seeing him babble at the prospect of kissing Berry. But for all of the film's entertainment and supposed truth-telling, there's something profoundly irritating about a satire that's so smug in its omniscience and so toothless in its bite.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about whether they agree with Bulworth's statements and whether they think the film is effective. What do you think of the film as a political satire? Did you learn anything new from watching it, or does it reaffirm what you already believe? What do you think would happen in real life if a politican behaved the way Jay Bulworth does?
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| Studio: | Twentieth Century Fox |
| Director: | Warren Beatty |
| Cast: | Halle Berry, Kimberly Deauna Adams, Warren Beatty |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 108 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | October 12, 1998 |
| DVD release date: | March 16, 1999 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | profanity, sexual situations. |
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